Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Anacia Sessoms. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Anacia, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

My name is Anacia Sessoms, an Afro-Indigenous Creatrix who is an artist, fashion designer, and entrepreneur. I am the founder and fashion designer of Enchantment Of Gardens. Enchantment Of Gardens is my sustainable fashion brand that, uses upcycling and sustainable practices to create one-of-a-kind wearable sculptural on the runway and for eco-creative and eco-conscious fashionistas. My process in creating my garments includes upcycling thrown out and donated fabrics, textiles, and found objects into wearable artworks through hand sewing, hand craftsmanship, and creative and sustainable ways to piece together objects, fabrics, and textiles. Enchantment Of Gardens was founded by me in 2021 while creating a denim 3D -collage corset during the Covid-19 Pandemic, realizing that there are not enough fashion brands that create colorful and one-of-a-kind garments who uplift women and men of color in fashion media, showcasing them wearing sculptured as fashion that highlights their own uniqueness, creativity, and culture. As a fashion designer and artist, I am inspired by my spiritual connection with Earth, metaphysical, and spiritual. As a woman that identifies as Witch, I create from my internal alter and crafting that into the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual realm. The concept of earth magick and working with the elements are highly reflected in the concept of creation and themes around my collections. Enchantment Of Gardens is for those who want to feel like living artworks in everyday life and feel seen through creativity and inclusivity in the fashion industry. I create living artworks on the runway. My garments are sustainably made, all being handsewn and hand crafted by me. I use eco-friendly processes to create my one-of-a-kind collections! You can find my brand online and on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Facebook @enchantmentofgardens.

Anacia, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a 4th- year Visual Arts Major and Fashion Design Minor at Montclair State University. I started exploring combining fashion and art as one during Covid-19 and throughout my artist experience while being in college. I like to create wearable artworks for sculptural, runway, and everyday use. My art and fashion practice is very big on being sustainable, using only second hand and donated fabrics, textiles, and objects. My goal with my brand is to reduce textile waste in the fashion industry, while creating one-of-a-kind artwork garments. Enchantment Of Gardens is a creative and luxury fashion brand that up-cycles textiles to solve the issue of textile waste and incorporate sustainability into fashion. My mission with my brand is to create creative and artsy fashion that connects our customers to our clothing and their own essence, having our customers feel like living artworks. As a fashion designer and entrepreneur, I am most proud of how I have had the opportunities to showcase my brand at many fashion shows and fashion weeks. I have been doing fashion shows for 1 year, being a designer in a total of 11 shows, including New York Fashion Week, Newark Fashion Week, Sustainable Fashion Week, and Harlem Fashion Week.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

My 2nd-year at Montclair State University, I joined Ignite Entrepreneurs, a program that helps students and my local community create and grow our business plans and ideas, creating or thoughts into a pitch. I entered the Pitch competition at the end of the program nod was one of five winners for a grant towards small businesses. After being a part of this community at the Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State University, I was able to scale my business, find my brand voice and audience, as well as use my communication and community building skills to showcase my art as an extension of me in Enchantment Of Gardens, as well as have investors give into my creations and ideas. I was the youngest pitch winner in this competition. After this experience, I was able to scale my business and grow my voice and community, as well as enter new spaces with my ideas and innovation.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I joined my first fashion designer residency this past summer in collaboration with Materials for the Arts in NYC, Brooklyn Fashion Week, and Sustainable Fashion Week US. This program included 5 designers ages 18-25, creating a sustainable fashion collection of the course of 5 months in preparation for our Sustainable Fashion Week US Showcase and Brooklyn Fashion Week for fall 2024. Over the course of 5 months from June-October 2024, I created my collection, ‘The Temple of Esoterica’, using materials at the warehouse and constructing them into wearable art. Not only did I commute from New Jersey to get into Queens, NYC and traveling with a mannequin on the train and subway, I really committed to myself a as designer to challenge myself with my collection and collection building progress. For this residency, the designers were assigned dot create collections that were sustainable and different from the everyday clothing we see in the world. I used innovation to create my collection, with my runway opening dress being made of 100 percent New York Times undeveloped film between the 1940s-2000s. I have learned how to use unconventional materials to create garments that are functionable and wearable in this designer-in-residence program with Materials for the Arts.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://instagram.com/enchantmentofgardens
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/enchantmentofgardens
• Facebook: Enchantment Of Gardens
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anaciasessoms
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@enchantmentofgardens
• Other: https://linktr.ee/enchantmentofgardens

Image Credits

Photo Credits: Ken Watson, Nasia (Caught N Style), Samuel Sylvester